


Arachnophobia

by specialsnowfl_ke



Category: Unspecified Fandom
Genre: Arachnophobia, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-11
Updated: 2017-07-11
Packaged: 2018-11-30 20:25:01
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11471025
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/specialsnowfl_ke/pseuds/specialsnowfl_ke
Summary: Tom has a panic attack after that interview he did in Brazil with Laura. Luckily, Harrison is right there to calm him down.





	Arachnophobia

Tom had absolutely sprinted out of that room as soon as he could. He was shaking harder than he ever had before in his entire life. Despite how he’d make a joking comment about it during the interview, he knew that the shaking was not a good sign. Vaguely, he heard footsteps following him as he moved closer to a secluded place, but he ignored them. Hopefully this person wasn’t actually following him, and was just coincidentally moving in the same direction.

Eventually, he came to a stop in front of the bathroom, and he ran inside, not even registering that someone else had pushed the door open behind him. His entire body was practically vibrating at this point, and breathing seemed like such a foreign concept. His chest ached, his throat felt tight. All he could hear was his own heavy, uneven breathing, and the rushing of blood as it raced around his system full of adrenaline.

Tom sat down heavily on the tiled floor, pressing his back against the wall. The dizziness that was swimming around his head seemed to subside a little upon this action. In his mind, memories of what had just happened played over and over again in his head. He swore he could still feel the spider crawling up his hands. 

Something touched his shoulder, and Tom hit it blindly. Tears spilled down his face as he shuffled further down the wall, backing right into a corner where a cubicle joined to the tiles. He put his hand on his chest, which had gone numb but at the same time it felt like there was a great big weight sitting on there. His senses seemed dulled but heightened at the same time, everything was muffled and there wasn’t enough input but at the same time there was way too much.

“Tom, Tom, Tom, hey.” Tom could vaguely make out the words. He hadn’t even realised that the other person had been talking, and he felt a wave of dread fall over him as he wondered if this person thought he was ignoring him. Then he wondered if the person thought that he was just being dramatic. This unhelpful train of thought just sent him spiralling further into a pit of panic.

“-no spiders, there are no more spiders, Tom, I promise-” Harrison. It was Harrison. Relief struggled at the back of Tom’s mind, pinned back by anxiety and panic. Your best friend! it screamed, he’ll fix this! Tom clung to that thought desperately. Harrison could fix this, he told himself. Harrison would never have this issue, a malicious part of his mind reminded him.

“-with me okay? Just breathe with me,” Harrison muttered, his voice soothing and low. He gently took Tom’s wrists, putting one on his chest and the other on Tom’s own. “With me, okay? In… out… in… out… in… Yeah, that’s good, like that. Keep breathing like that. In… out… in… out… in…” Tom’s breathing was slightly less erratic now, the pain in his chest easing slightly as he breathed on Harrison’s instructions.

Tom felt Harrison wiping his face with the end of his sleeve pulled over his fingers. He opened his eyes, taking in the sight of his best friend crouched in front of him with a concerned expression. Tom tightened his fist in Harrison’s shirt, putting his head back against the wall as he took in deep breaths. Harrison just stayed there, letting Tom loosen and tighten his grip on the front of his shirt, watching him carefully with his hands supporting the awkward way he was crouching.

After a while, the pain in his chest lifted as his breathing returned to normal. Tom’s limbs felt heavy, as well as his eyelids. He didn’t want to stand up, he didn’t want to go and keep doing interviews. He wanted to go home -- home home, back in London. He pulled on Harrison’s shirt, causing the other boy to fall forwards, landing sort of on top of Tom and sort of in his lap. Tom just wrapped his arms around him, putting his head on Harrison’s shoulder and letting out a breath of relief.

“Do you wanna talk about this?”

“N-Not yet. Not here.”

Harrison didn’t say anything. A silent moment of understanding passed over them as Harrison helped Tom up from the floor. They walked out of the bathroom together, with Harrison’s hand on Tom’s shoulder to steady his nerves.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a literary genius (this is a clue for my friend, we have a bet that she can't find this fic)


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